Police in southwestern China opened
fire on protesters in a Tibetan enclave during a clash Jan. 24,
the second straight day of deadly protests in the area, the
official Xinhua News Agency reported.

The confrontation occurred after a crowd gathered two days
ago near the Chengguan Police Station, Xinhua said yesterday,
citing an unidentified police officer. The crowd refused to
disperse and then stormed the station with knives, gasoline
bottles and stones, according to the report.

Police opened fire after attempts to disperse the crowd by
non-lethal means failed, Xinhua reported. One protester was
killed and another injured, in addition to 14 police wounded,
according to the report.

“The Tibetan people are unhappy and restive about their
lot in China,” Mohan Guruswamy, chairman of the Centre for
Policy Alternatives, a New Delhi-based research group, said in
an e-mail. “There is ample evidence of it, and the acute
Chinese sensitivity to any comment on Tibet is only proof.”

Tibet’s spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama has lived in India
since fleeing in 1959 from China’s military takeover of the
region. China accuses the Dalai Lama of waging a campaign for
independence while the spiritual leader says he is seeking
autonomy for Tibet.

The unrest was in the county seat of Seda, Ganzi Tibetan
Autonomous Prefecture, about 400 kilometers (250 miles)
northwest of Sichuan’s provincial capital, Chengdu. A clash the
day before in Luhuo county left one protester dead and five
police officers hurt, according to Xinhua. A crowd had gathered
that day to witness the self-immolation of three monks, the news
agency reported.

Violent Protests

Tibetan protests began in the rural mountains of western
Sichuan in March when monks at a prominent Buddhist monastery in
the province immolated themselves to highlight their opposition
to Chinese policies in ethnic Tibetan regions. Fourteen monks or
nuns have burned themselves to death since then and unrest has
“spread to the general population of the area in protest
against the arrest and prosecution of many bystanders,” said
Bahukutumbi Raman, a political analyst with the Chennai Center
for China Studies in southern India.

The protests have become violent in recent weeks and twice
have targeted police stations, Raman said in an e-mail.

Local police have adopted “harsh measures” to counter the
circulation of leaflets that called for Tibetans to avoid new
year celebrations amid plans for more self-immolations, the
Washington-based International Campaign for Tibet said in a Jan.
23 statement that cited exiles in contact with local protesters.

Social Order

China will remain “resolute in maintaining normal social
order,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said in a Jan. 24
statement carried by Xinhua after the first day of protests.
Hong said overseas groups advocating Tibetan independence have
“fabricated rumors and distorted the truth to discredit the
Chinese government,” according to Xinhua.

In October, the U.S. State Department called on China to
respect human rights and particularly “the rights of Tibetans”
after a ninth person set herself on fire in protest at Chinese
rule over the region.

“We urge Chinese leaders to address counterproductive
policies in Tibetan areas that have created tensions,” the
State Department said in a statement Oct. 19.

Self-Immolation

Since then, there have been at least two further deaths by
self-immolation, as well at least one failed attempt. Xinhua
reported on Nov. 3 a Tibetan nun died in Sichuan after setting
herself on fire, and said on Jan. 9 a Tibetan Monk in northwest
Qinghai province died in similar fashion.

A Tibetan farmer was hospitalized after setting fire to
himself, Xinhua reported on Dec. 2.

The U.S. government is “seriously concerned” about the
reports of the latest violence and urges China to hold
“constructive” talks with the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s exiled
spiritual leader, the State Department said on Jan. 24.

The U.S. will make “clear” its concerns on the issue of
human rights for Tibetans as well as the rest of China during
Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping’s visit to Washington next
month, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.

Xi will meet with President Barack Obama, Vice President
Joe Biden and other senior officials to discuss bilateral and
global issues, the White House said on Jan. 23.